## Reading is not studying

Re-reading an explanation produces a strong feeling of competence and very little
retention. Retrieving the information from your own head — with the page closed —
produces the opposite: it feels harder and works far better. This is the most robust
result in the study of learning.

**Active recall (retrieval practice)**

Deliberately pulling information out of memory without looking at the source. The act
of retrieval is what strengthens the memory — the effort is doing the work, not the
exposure. Recognising an answer when you see it is a different and much weaker
operation than producing it.

Definition

## Flip the roles

The default relationship is: you ask, Claude explains. Invert it.

### 1. The Feynman flip

**The Feynman technique**

Explain a concept in plain language as though to a beginner. Wherever you stall, hedge,
or reach for jargon, you've located a gap in your own understanding. The gaps are the
output — the explanation itself is just the instrument that finds them.



```text
I'm going to explain [CONCEPT] to you as if you're a beginner.
Grade me strictly out of 10 on:
 - accuracy
 - completeness
 - whether a beginner could actually follow it

Then list, specifically, what I left out or stated too confidently.
Do not be encouraging. I want the gaps.

My explanation:
[write it yourself, no looking]
```

`Do not be encouraging` is load-bearing. Without it you get praise, and praise is not
information.
### 2. Question generation

```text
Generate 8 questions on [TOPIC] for a learner at [LEVEL]:
 - 3 recall (definitions, syntax)
 - 3 application (here's a scenario, what happens)
 - 2 diagnostic (here's broken code/reasoning, what's wrong)

Ask them ONE at a time. Wait for my answer. Then tell me if I'm right,
what I missed, and only then move on.
```

The one-at-a-time constraint matters. A list of eight questions becomes something you
skim. One question with a wait becomes a test.
### 3. Flashcards

```text
Turn my notes below into 12 flashcards, front/back, as a two-column table.
Rules: one idea per card, no card answerable with yes/no, and front side
must be a question I could be asked in an interview.

Notes:
[paste]
```

## Spacing Beats Cramming

**Spaced repetition**

Distributing review across increasing intervals rather than massing it into one
session. The same total study time produces substantially better long-term retention,
because each retrieval after partial forgetting strengthens the memory more than an
easy one does.


Same total minutes, far better retention, just redistributed:

| When | What you do | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Watch, take notes, make cards | — |
| Day 1 | Recall from cards. Mark every miss. | 10 |
| Day 3 | Only the misses. Then Feynman-explain the topic. | 15 |
| Day 7 | Full pass. Ask Claude for 3 *new* application questions. | 10 |

The Day 7 "new questions" step is important — reusing the same cards tests your memory
of the cards, not of the concept.
## The honesty setting

Claude defaults to being supportive, which is pleasant and useless for assessment.
Override it explicitly:

```text
Grade me harshly. Assume I want to be corrected, not encouraged.
If my answer is 70% right, tell me about the 30%.
```

Master the skills needed to turn any lecture, PDF, or course into knowledge that
survives the week. You will build prompts that explain at your level, retrieval
loops that quiz you instead of lecturing you, flashcards that test recall, and a
verification habit that catches confident mistakes. Every technique runs on
material you already have to study, so by the end you have a weekly system
instead of a pile of chat history.

When	What you do	Minutes
Day 0	Watch, take notes, make cards	—
Day 1	Recall from cards. Mark every miss.	10
Day 3	Only the misses. Then Feynman-explain the topic.	15
Day 7	Full pass. Ask Claude for 3 new application questions.	10

Make Claude Quiz You

Reading is not studying

Flip the roles

1. The Feynman flip

2. Question generation

3. Flashcards

Spacing Beats Cramming

The honesty setting